We know it’ll make you feel old, but join us on a journey to seven years ago. The year was 2017; there was no global pandemic or even a hint of it, and the only “dying thing” out there was Nintendo. Allegedly, that is. You see, the disgraceful run of the Wii U had stained many people’s beliefs in The Big N and whether they could “bounce back from such failure.” Even diehards were wondering if the next system, whatever it may be, could save the company. A small preview for the Nintendo Switch had been done months earlier on Jimmy Fallon. But on January 12th, 2017, the showcase reveal of the Switch came, and the world was never the same.
Nintendo had never truly done an event like this, and they made sure to make it count. Not only did they show off fully what the Nintendo Switch could do, but they announced its release date of March 3rd, its big launch title of Breath of the Wild, opened up pre-orders that night, and, if that wasn’t enough, highlighted some of the games that would be coming in the following months and years.
As the tweet below highlights, Nintendo announced numerous 1st and 3rd party titles for the Switch on that night, all of which were hits in one form or another. Some of them would even become the best-sellers that the system ever saw, and that was just 2017!
Arguably, the biggest thing was that the Switch would make console gaming truly portable. You could play AAA titles on the go, no matter where you were. That kind of freedom hadn’t been done at the time, and it helped lead to big sales immediately and throughout the next seven years.
Do we really need to explain how big the Switch impacted the world? Well, let’s spell out the highlights. Nintendo arguably put out its best 1st party roster of titles for the Switch. All of which were million-sellers and beyond. The 3rd party lineup featured not only special exclusives but great ports, at times, that featured fan-desired franchises. Plus, there were unique collaborations that no one saw coming. Them Rabbids will surprise you!
And as if that wasn’t enough, not only was it selling constantly and consistently throughout the last seven years, but it’s now one of the top three best-selling gaming platforms of all time, behind only the PS2 and the Nintendo DS.
So yeah, Nintendo was saved by the Switch.
